Medical experts from Vietnam’s Bach Mai hospital and Japan’s International Health Centre shared experiences in treating H5N1 virus-infected patients during an on-line discussion on June 13.

Since May 2007, Vietnam has reported four human bird flu cases, two of them have recovered well and two others are under intensive care at Bach Mai hospital. Notably, one of the four cases, patient Phung Minh Phuc, 30, from Vinh Phuc province was discharged from the hospital after a 26 day treatment.

Experts studied Phuc’s case and concluded that the treatment protocol for type A influenza from lethal H5N1 virus as recommended by the Vietnamese Health Ministry and new treatment by doctors are valuable experience in treating human bird flu cases.